RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – The Joint Committee on Appropriations advanced four letters of intent on Monday, Veto Day, the final day of the 2026 legislative session.
The letters lay out what lawmakers want state agencies to report or plan for on food assistance, welfare cash benefits, school finance, and road construction around Ellsworth Air Force Base. Three passed without opposition, but the TANF letter drew dissent over whether lawmakers were pressuring the state to spend federal carryover funds.
Emergency food assistance
The first letter calls for a joint report from the Department of Education and Feeding South Dakota at the committee’s December 2026 meeting. The report must cover three fiscal years of data on the Emergency Food Assistance Program and Commodity Supplemental Food Program. It also must include a plan to maximize food distribution.
Rep. Erik Muckey, D-Sioux Falls, said the state changed how it delivers the programs by moving to a primary eligible recipient agency model with sub-agencies. He said lawmakers need a clearer picture of that structure before deciding whether more changes are needed.
“The letter of intent will allow us to better understand the program and allow us to better understand how we can partner with the Department of Education to maximize food availability and distribution,” said Jennifer Staley, a lobbyist for Feeding South Dakota.
The committee approved the letter 16-0.
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
The second letter calls for the Department of Social Services to present five years of TANF spending data at the committee’s July 2026 meeting. It also addresses a 5 percent partial restoration of cash assistance benefits approved in the General Appropriations Act. Lawmakers approved $427,000 in general funds and $427,000 in federal fund expenditure authority for that change. Muckey said the federal share would come from TANF carryover funds, which he estimated at between $19 million and $21 million.
Sen. John Carley, R-Piedmont, voted against the letter. He objected to language he said pressed DSS to spend down carryover funds. “Spending should come from need,” Carley said. “I don’t think we should be pressing them to dump more out.”
Muckey responded that the language does not order DSS to spend additional money. “The intent is to say the amount that we appropriated to them for federal fund expenditure authority would come from that fund,” he said. He also said he consulted with the Bureau of Finance and Management and DSS to confirm that reading.
The committee approved the letter 15-2. Carley and Sen. Casey Voita, R-Bonesteel, voted no.
School finance accountability
Rep. Terry Jorgenson, R-District 29, sponsored the third letter. It calls for the Department of Education to work with schools that do not receive state aid but carry large cash balances. The goal is to develop plans to reduce those balances.
Rep. Chris Kassin, R-Vermillion, said a work group this session reviewed schools that receive state aid. He said this letter would extend that review to schools that do not.
The committee approved the letter 16-0.
SB 130 Ellsworth road improvements
Rep. Jack Kolbeck, R-Sioux Falls, sponsored the fourth letter. It deals with the $8 million SB 130 special appropriation for road improvements around Ellsworth Air Force Base.
The letter says the $8 million appropriation is intended to be the state’s final cost. It also says Rapid City, Box Elder, Pennington County, and Meade County must cover future maintenance and any cost overruns within their jurisdictions.
“We formed a coalition of four different governmental entities, two counties and two cities,” Rob Timm, government affairs director and registered lobbyist for the city of Box Elder, told the committee.
The committee approved the letter 17-0.
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